- afternoon
- Moody
- veil over eyes
- Veil
- Thought provoking
- surreal
- Soft Light
- Shade
- Serious
- Portrait
- Natural Light
- Natural
- Intimate Framing
- Bride
- green
- gentle
- eyes closed
- Dark
- crown
- Close up
- Center Framed
- calm
- bush
- bride eyes closed
- veil over head
The story behind the image
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
Since Catherine is a professional model, I didn’t need to give her too many directions – though I did ask her to try to interpret the dream of an artist, her muse, the one who inspires art. Making the model close her eyes allowed me to underline this aspect, emphasizing the ecstasy of the complete abandonment of the body and mind.
What did you say?
Breathe, look down and close your eyes. Try and imagine that you are the embodiment of an artist’s muse.
Tone of Directions
Calm
Composition
I kept the composition centered with one of the ‘rule of third’ lines running right across the gaze of the model. This puts the eyes, which are the home of the emotions in our model, right in a balanced point of the image. In my photos, I often try and find symmetry and centrality of the subject. And in this particular case, I tried to do just that. I also chose to frame this quite close up since I wanted the model’s expressions to really be felt by the viewer.
framing
Center Framed
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
Since I wanted the focus of the image to be on the emotions of the model, and the eyes are the ‘window to the soul’, I chose to put my focus on the eyes of the model. Very simply with a single focus point & with autofocus.
Focus Mode
Single Shot Autofocus
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
the brides eyes
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/1000 @ f/2.8 ISO100 WB-Auto
The way the EXIF is written out follows the common photographic method (with the inclusion of White Balance at the end). Here it is broken down:
Shutter Speed @ Aperture ISO White Balance.
Light & Weather
During the shoot, the sky was covered with clouds and this worked out perfectly for me as it creates this really soft and even lighting while also creating some gentle shadows. There were no sharp or harsh contrasts. The light was coming from just behind the subject but due to the clouds, it didn’t quite matter.
Light Type
Natural Light
Time of day
Afternoon
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
I usually like to give my images a kind of ‘theatrical/cinematic’ and timeless feel. In this image, I used the Meridian preset, although lately I find myself going back to editing in Camera Raw. My style is moody and I love to underexpose when shooting. For this image, I adjusted the exposures as well as the curves and contrasts to create this darker mood and feel.
Editing Software
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Preset Used
Challenges
It looked like it may rain at any point but this actually worked out to my advantage as I really love the moodiness of the ‘storm’.
Solutions
Make the most of every situation, I always avoid putting myself in direct sunlight, but rather in the shade to always keep my style consistent.
Location
Location Name
Villa Pazzi al Parugiano
Location aDDRESS
Via Montalese, 223, 59013 Montemurlo PO, Tuscany
Loation Type
Wedding / Event Venue
Country
Italy
I always try and use the weather to my advantage, and to experiment with light that isn’t always what we are used to. I also don’t worry too much about weather forecasts and rather embrace things as they are.
